The Buck Stops With You

There’s a moment every leader faces.

Something goes wrong.

A project slips.
A mistake gets made.
A client is unhappy.
A team drops the ball.

And in that moment, you get to decide who you are.

Do you protect yourself?

Or do you lead?

I learned early on that real leadership comes down to five simple words:

The buck stops with you.

What That Actually Means

Leadership isn’t about titles.

It isn’t about authority.

It isn’t even about being the smartest person in the room.

Leadership is about responsibility.

Here’s how that shows up in real life.

When things go right

If you’re the leader and success happens on your watch, your job is simple:

You give credit away.

All of it.

You push praise down to the lowest levels of the team. You talk about them. You highlight their work. You celebrate their effort.

If that feels uncomfortable, that’s your ego talking.

And if your ego needs praise, it will quietly limit how far you can go as a leader.

When things go wrong

This is where most people fail.

A mistake happens.

There’s criticism to face. Pressure from above. Hard conversations.

And instead of owning it, leaders start explaining:

• “It wasn’t really my fault.”

• “They didn’t do X, Y, or Z.”

• “I can’t control everyone.”

• “That wasn’t my responsibility.”

That’s weak leadership.

Not because mistakes are unacceptable — but because deflecting responsibility destroys trust.

If you’re in charge, you’re in charge.

You take the heat.

Every time.

You don’t throw your people under the bus.

You don’t publicly blame them.

You absorb the pressure, because that’s what leadership costs.

Why This Matters More Than You Think

People always know when they messed up.

They don’t need public humiliation to understand that.

But when they see you step forward and say, “That’s on me,” something powerful happens.

They realize:

• You have their back.

• You value them more than your image.

• You’re willing to protect them.

And once they know that?

They will work their tails off to never put you in that position again.

Not out of fear.

Out of respect.

Protect the people you lead and put their needs above your own — and they’ll follow you anywhere.

Proactive, Not Reactive

This doesn’t mean you ignore mistakes.

Of course you correct them.

You investigate internally.
You coach.
You clarify expectations.
You raise standards.

But you do it while preserving dignity.

You fix problems without crushing people.

There’s a quote from Colin Powell I’ve always loved:

If your team is afraid to speak up, afraid to admit mistakes, afraid to ask questions — you’ve already lost.

Psychological safety isn’t softness.

It’s performance infrastructure.

The Real Question

Leadership isn’t about looking good.

It’s about carrying weight.

It’s about absorbing pressure so your people can breathe.

It’s about pushing praise down and pulling responsibility up.

So I’ll leave you with this:

Are you strong enough to give away the credit?

Are you secure enough to take the blame?

Because that’s the cost of real leadership.

Don’t settle. Be relentless.

— Hunter